Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, believes coaches should be involved in the debate over the length of the Premiership season.
Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Saracens’ Mark McCall, director of rugby at England’s most successful club this decade, believes coaches should be given a central role in the dispute over the length of the season that has prompted players to consider going on strike.

Premiership Rugby intends to run the domestic campaign over 10 months from 2019-20, starting in September and running until the end of June when international players will go on international tours. The Rugby Football Union has said it is a decision for the Professional Game Board, not clubs, but McCall wants those at the sharp end to have a say. “It would seem to be sensible to talk to all the parties who can contribute to the debate,” he said. “Directors of rugby should definitely be involved, the players as well. At the moment, you are reliant on your Premiership representative on the board to represent the collective view of the clubs, but this is an important issue for everyone.”

The Saracens captain, Brad Barritt, said while the issue was not preoccupying players, no one wanted a 10-month campaign. “Everyone has their take on it and what is universal is that no one wants to extend the length of the season,” he said. “I understand the debate to have the Premiership as strong as possible and the only way that could happen is if they reduced the number of games.”

David Humphreys, Gloucester’s director of rugby, said the season length was only one part of the debate. “There are a number of big issues, including the increased number of ‘A’ games and the salary cap. We would need a bigger squad if the season was lengthened and would have to increase the cap.”

Gloucester had 15 players unavailable because of injury for Friday night’s Premiership match at Sale, while Bath are without 13 for Sunday’s fixture at Wasps. “There are more injuries in the game now,” said Humphreys. “We have to ask where we are trying to take the game and how we are trying to get it there.

“Player welfare has to be the priority. We want them to have long careers and that should underpin everything. The directors of rugby meet regularly and we have discussions with our club owners and chief executives. We all know the direction we would like to go and there are still discussions to be had. We have a responsibility to give players a long break from the game [in the off-season]. We cannot have them leaving the game at 21, 22 or 23 because they are injured. We need to get this right.”

The Premiership’s injury price tag is mounting and attitudes need to change | Robert Kitson

Read more

The England captain, Dylan Hartley, said it was different to the players’ strike in 2000 when the England squad downed boots in a dispute over appearance money and win bonuses. “It is about guys who are playing Premiership rugby every week,” the Northampton hooker said. “They are the ones who need to be considered. I get the chance of a fallow week here and there as an international. England players are a part of it, but it is not on my shoulders to lead the Martin Johnson strike of 2000. We have not had anything concrete put to us so we do not know what is going on. I won’t comment any further until I see what it is.”